Sunburn's Journey
by NoLifeLeague
Summary: This story happens about the same time as the IceWing and NightWing war. Sunburn, the second daughter of Jerboa and an secret animus, is on a journey to find who killed her mother and why. She travels to each of the tribes, searching for companions to help her. Sunburn is abnormally cunning and ruthless for a dragnet and her greed for gold is also abnormal.
1. Prolouge 1 Nightmare

"Stop trying to control me! You're always like this! Why can't you just let me be?"

A small female SandWing yelled. She was at the age of rebellion and curiosity.

Jerboa felt tears streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably as she tried to defend herself. He stumbled forward, trying to prove herself. All she wanted was for her daughter to be happy. Why was it so hard?

"I just want you to be happy! I-I… Queen Scorpion is just toying with you! She is just abusing your animus powers! Please don't be fooled by her!"

Jerboa II looked at her with murderous intent before stopping. Jerboa felt daggers piercing into her heart and sudden chill. Jerboa II squinted at Jerboa, hinting at a realization. She trembled before muttering softly,

"I know why you're doing this… It's because I'm an animus too, isn't it?! You feel uncomfortable when someone else has the attention of the queen don't you?! You feel jealous! "

"W-what? Of course not! Why- why would you ever think that?"

Jerboa II turned her back towards Jerboa and walked away. Jerboa felt her heart drop and lifted her arms to clutch her heart. It felt as if her heart was being cut into pieces, one slice at a time. She wanted to say something but she couldn't get the words out. She ended up just standing there in shock.

"It's true isn't it?"

Jerboa II said emotionlessly before completely disappearing from Jerboa's view. All Jerboa had left was a shattered heart and the tingle in her claws. She collapsed onto the ground and grabbed the air, trying to find her daughter.

"JERBOA!"

Jerboa immediately woke up and clenched her sweaty palms. She panted in fear and glanced at her claws, shaking her head. She shook off the blanket hanging on her slightly open wings. What was wrong with her? Ever since she arrived in the Queen's castle she had been having flashbacks of that day. Even the thought of her daughter would dampen her mood.

It was her sore spot. She always wanted to apologize even though she knew she didn't do anything wrong.

Every so often, a dragon would throw looks at her. They wouldn't even try to hide it, changing their attitude form respect to mockery. How she wished she could wipe her those looks off their face.

The rumors didn't help either. This matter had already driven her crazier then her animus magic.

Queen Scorpion!

She clenched her claws and anger slowly rose in her. It was her fault that her daughter betrayed her! After all she had enchantments done!

This matter gave her a headache every time she remembered it.

Jerboa sighed with grief and tried to calm down. She glanced at the window and saw that the sun had yet to rise. Even the sun was resting better than her! She sat up and scanned her room. It was slightly messy, but nothing out of the ordinary. It was a typical quest room.

She reached out and grabbed a dried lizard from a small bowl besides her and flicked it into her mouth. She chewed for a while before grabbed another. Chewing always cleared her mind.

Then, she suddenly remembered something. Today was the royal meeting! She didn't know why the Queen had invited her, as she didn't invite her on any other occasion, but it was still of major importance.

She pinched her own forehead in annoyance. How could she had forgotten?! Stupid, useless brain! She was going to be late!

Queen Scorpion had a horrible habit of walking up extremely early. It had annoyed many of her royal advisors. As a result, all of her meeting, parties and gatherings were always before sunrise.

Jerboa quickly got out of bed and looked at herself in the mirror. She opened her wings out and grunted loudly. She rubbed her eyes a few times and yawned. She blinked distortedly and licked her dry lips.

However, then, contrary to her tired appearance, she whipped her head left and right, as if her life depended on it. She then scrunched down and stretched her tail out to grab a small gold box from under her bed.

She then hugged it, and proceeded to look around furiously. After confirming no one was around she opened the box.

In the box, glimmered gold bracelets and silver trinkets. Some even had diamonds engraved within them. She picked out a few of the more bright ones and put them on. She once again glanced around before hiding the box once more.

She put on her indifferent face on and opened the door. She smacked her own cheeks and opened the door.

Royal meeting here I come!


	2. Prolouge 2 Royal Meeting

Jerboa stands at the door the auditorium, knowing she is extremely late. She breathes in and out, trying to calm herself.

She tires to comfort herself, but she couldn't help but worry.

She had spent an additional 30 minutes finding the auditorium. She underestimated the size of the royal palace and overestimated her directional skills. She was very tempted to cast a spell after the first 10 minutes, but she knew it wasn't worth it. After all, being late for 10 min was better than losing your sanity.

She sighed and tried to prep herself.

She creaked the door open slowly, praying that it wouldn't be too loud and she could sneak in unnoticed.

Of course, after thinking that, the door had to squeak as loud at possible.

The sunlight in the room was the polar opposite of the palace itself and bombarded Jerboa. She squinted and slowly closed the door. All the dragons in the auditorium turned their head towards her and she froze up. Their stares felt like they were burning a hole through her. Even the queen was looking straight at her.

 _Oh for the sake of all baked lizards!_ She cursed in her mind.

"H-hello," Jerboa managed to force out a soft hello. She felt like her cheeks were burning up. If there were a hole in the ground, she wouldn't hesitate to jump in.

Queen Scorpion smiled her royal smile and straightened her back a bit more. She extended her wings boomed out in her royal meeting voice, as if asserting dominance.

"Ah, Jerboa! You have finally arrived!"

Jerboa knew that smile. It was the smile when you don't like something but you smile anyway to be polite. Her eyes eluded a sliver of coldness before she let out a smile of the same nature. Her hatred for Queen Scorpion had already passed the normal standard of hatred.

She bowed and responded with a neutral voice, "Forgive me for coming late, your majesty, I encountered some trouble on my way here."

The royal council returned their attention to the queen, no longer sparing Jerboa a glance. However, when they retraced their looks, they started to whisper among themselves. She thought nothing of it, as she was used to weird looks. She was an animus after all. She didn't know why, but she had a bad feeling.

Jerboa then looked around the auditorium, finally grasping the size of it. It was big enough to fit hundreds of dragons. But before then a sharp ray of sunlight stabbed into her eyes. The windows in the auditorium were ginormous and the gold lined walls only intensified the light. It took a while before Jerboa moved again. After all, her eyes hadn't adjusted to the light just yet. After a coupled of seconds of blinking and curses she started to look for a seat.

She browsed over the sea of dragons before spotting a specific SandWing. This SandWing as lightly runty, but her above average looks made her look nice. She wasn't the prettiest SandWing of the world but she was diffidently a dragon, male SandWings would fight for. She was sitting in the third row, which was quite close considering the auditorium's size. She looked towards her and, just as she had expected, an empty seat was waiting for here.

She slowly made her way towards the seat, trying not to rush, but not appear too slow. After arriving she had to squish past numerous dragons. She inwardly sighed and wished that her friend had chosen a seat closer to the sides.

A few awkward grunts and apologizes later, she collapsed onto the empty seat. She angrily glared at the small SandWing but she only smirked and continues to ignore her. Only after a few minutes of Queen Scorpion's speech, she sighed under her breath and said,

"You are so oblivious that I can't even be bothered to tell you how oblivious you are."

Jerboa was engrossed in the conversation of two male dragons in front of her when her words shook her back into reality. They were complaining how the royal palace didn't have enough violence and how the Queen was so nice.

"Excuse me, but its not my fault this palace has so many hallways. And this is my first royal gathering so I can't be blamed for being late ok? And plus, look who's talking! Sandry, I don't think you've ever been on time in your life."

Jerboa retorted with anger. Her day was ready bad and Sandry insulting her was the last straw. She poured out all her anger and directed it to Sandry.

"No, idiot. Being late isn't why you're the most idiotic SandWings of the history of Pyrriha! Do you even know why we were all gathered here today?"

Sandry hissed before falling into deep thought. The worry on her face was apparent, like something Jerboa had ever seen.

"W-what? Isn't it just normal, boring royal gathering?"

Jerboa said in confusion. This wasn't entirely her fault. And since she didn't live the royal palace, she only assumed what royal meeting/gatherings were like. She had never actually attended one until now. Therefore, she was clueless.

"Y-you MORON! This gathering is about what type of punishment you get!"


	3. Prolouge 3 Grief

Jerboa gasped for air and leaned again a small palm tree.

The sun shone on Jerboa and caused her to feel like she was burning up. Days like these were pure torture, and even though she was a SandWing, the heat was still unbearable. Sweat trickled down the sides of her head and gave the sand below a bit of moisture.

Her wings had large gashes and no part of her body was without wounds. Pain shrouded her thoughts and the only thing she could process was the fact she was exiled. Her tail was low on venom, as that was her only defense against the mountain of guards.

She had never learned how to defend herself, arrogantly believing that her venomous tail was enough. Now she knew that her previous thoughts were utterly ridiculous.

Being ganged up by a few dragons could have instantly killed her if she wasn't cautious.

Thinking back to the battle made her shudder. The amount of spells she had cast was more than what she had cast in her entire life. Well, up until now.

She could feel the immediate insanity building up inside her. Feelings she never had emerged and nearly swallowed her whole.

Actually, when she started to contemplate a bit more she realized something. Queen Scorpion had been planning his for quite a while. The sheer amount of guards would have taken a bit of time to gather.

Queen Scorpion framing her was a given.

But the thing that made her unbelievably furious was the fact that her daughter had helped the queen exile her. She had purposely placed an enchantment on her. _Enchant this dragon to never be unable to use animus powers against others._

She didn't doubt that if there weren't other dragons watching in the battle, Jerboa II would have made a much more cruel enchantment. She had anger, but mainly sadness as she realized the queen had finally wooed her daughter to her side.

She sighed with grief, and decided to look around.

The oasis she was currently at was quite large. There were a few dozen trees and a large pond, with a few rocks surrounding it. She chose to lean on that exact tree because it was hidden from view. If anyone were to look from above or quickly scan the area, they wouldn't see her.

She had chosen a pretty good resting place, hidden from the world.

Her eyes then fell on a small SandWing egg. It was a brilliant shade of gold and was smaller than most SandWing eggs. Whenever she laid her claws on the egg she felt a wave of happiness.

She couldn't explain this feeling but continued to lay her claws on it, hoping to have a false sense of happiness.

She deeply regretted created this egg. The part of her made from insanity created her. She hated the enchantment with all her heart, but she didn't have the heart to destroy her own daughter.

 _Enchant this pebble to become an animus SandWing egg and fo-_

Jerboa managed to stop the spell halfway, but it was too late. The pebble has already morphed into a small egg.

She despised herself, wondering why she had creating it. All she could do was try to remove the enchantment, but she didn't want to give more power to the insanity inside of her. And, for some reason, a feeling buried in her heart loved the aspect of the egg. She hated the egg, but also loved it. She no longer knew what she felt.

She shuddered at the thought of the second part of the spell.

Jerboa slowly thought of how to solve this problem when she heard a small ruffle of leaves above her. She covered her mouth and tried not to move. She then looked at the egg, realizing it was exposed.

Without thinking, she chanted once more, _Enchant this egg to stay hidden until it is ready to hatch._

The egg rose into the air and trembled before hiding itself under the sand. It dug a hole straight down and covered itself up. It was as if nothing was ever there.

She sighed in relief, before once again tensing up. The dragon above was still circling around the oasis. It was if it knew she was here.

Jerboa quickly brushed away that thought, knowing that if the dragon circling the oasis did know of her whereabouts, it would have already landed.

Wait… What if it was signaling… reinforcements?

It suddenly dawned on her. No wonder it hadn't landed yet, it was gathering more dragons.

She panicked and started to stumble around. She tripped on a rock while trying to get up and then had a sudden realization.

"Why would the queen hunt me down… when she just exiled me?" She blurted out with confusion. She just couldn't understand. Didn't the queen care about her reputation? This didn't make any sense!

A small squeaky voice came up from behind her.

"Sorry to confuse you mom, but it's not the _queen_ , it's me."


	4. Chapter 1 Sunburn's Tough Past

A small, runty SandWing was sitting in the corner of a library. The corner looked especially dark and lonely. Cobwebs had already gathered around the tables and chairs.

However, that didn't stop her from being happy.

This runty SandWing was called Sunburn. Her radiant gold scales were the only unique thing about her. If you passed by her, you wouldn't spare her another glance. She was just that normal. She was a typical 3-year-old dragonet, nothing out of the ordinary.

Well, at least, she _looked_ normal.

Her venom was at much, much more venomous than a normal SandWings. Just a tap would bring you to death's door. The chance you had to survive was minuscule.

When she was only a few weeks old, she had accidently stabbed another dragon. The venom had quickly spread through his body, almost killing him in seconds. Thankfully, a bystander had some Brightsting Cactus and quickly fed him. He was no longer in danger of dying but it still took him months to fully heal.

Since that day, she had spent numerous days practicing to control her tail. She hid from other dragons, fearing she might once again stab someone.

Luckily, no one had recognized her. Otherwise she would have instantly become an outcast.

The days she practiced and trained were painful and long, but eventually her efforts bore fruits. Her skills were unmatched and she could kill a fully-grown dragon in seconds.

But because of her lengthy days of training, she had become an outcast. She had no friends, no family and no one to talk to. That was what led to her now ruthless and cold personality.

Her only passion was to get stronger, and of course, gold.

At first she didn't care for gold, but then she understood something. Without it, you had nothing. SandWings did anything for gold.

She realized this important fact when she was about a year old.

Sunburn was starved and ate nothing for days. She had begged passing SandWings for food. They all looked at her with indifferent expressions and asked, "Do you gold?"

That's when she was enlightened. Gold was the only thing that mattered. It didn't matter if you were ugly or weird or even evil. If you had gold, dragons would help. If you didn't, they would mock you and laugh.

That's when she started to gather gold. Originally, she gathered gold to stay alive and give comfortably. But it soon became an obsession. Every time she found a new trinket or new piece of diamond, she felt a surge of happiness and satisfaction. She was pleased whenever she passed by her stash.

She started to look for more ways to get gold. Sell things, provide protection, and help others. She did these all but didn't feel fulfilled at all. She needed something else, something that could give her more gold and happiness.

That's when she started to ask around. As expected, they refused to say anything unless they were paid. She reluctantly gave them a small ruby before quickly answering.

They more or less said the same things, except one… he jokingly said that she could try to be an assassin. He said they got paid gold to kill a certain dragon and could take any gold the dragon had. He obviously didn't really think she could do it; after all she was merely a dragonet.

He said it in a jesting manner.

However, Sunburn was now intrigued. She went around in Hyena's Fury, trying to see if there was anywhere that she could apply. After looking for a while, she passed by a large building.

She entered, not having high expectations. She looked around and asked the bartender. He was just polishing cups when he spotted her.

His name was Python and he was the currently the dragon closest to Sunburn.

He had, like the previous dragon, laughed. He didn't want the dragonet to die so he, like any other morally sane dragon, refused.

Sunburn's number 1 pet peeve was when someone underestimated her. Therefore, she now had to become an assassin. She snatched the mission paper and completed it in a few days.

Since this was her first time killing, she was nervous. She hid in the shadows for a day, knowing that she had missed countless opportunities. But, for the first time, she was scared.

Fear of the target discovering her, fear of being killed and fear for not completing the assignment. She didn't like the feeling of terror. It made her feel… weak.

She looked at the knife, trembling in the palms of her hands. She clenched her teeth and rushed out, trying the stab the full-grown adult dragon.

And yes, she failed.


	5. Chapter 2 First Mission

Sunburn and Sunburn's tail were pinned down, unable to move an inch. Her arms felt crushed and her legs sore. She had tried to struggle, but that had only caused the bodyguards to tighten their grip on her.

She regretted taking the mission paper. She regretted trying to become an assassin she regretted everything. Why was she so ignorant?

The bodyguards snarled at her, causing her to tear up. Dread creped into her heart, making her freeze up. She wanted to scream but she couldn't. She wanted to fight but she couldn't.

A chuckle rung out into the dark sky. The moonlight shone into Sunburn's eyes, causing her to close her eyes in frustration.

"Oh? A dragonet this time? They really are getting desperate. Do they think I'm that weak?"

Sunburn twisted her head to see who was talking. A dark figure walked forward from behind the bodyguards. When she could see his face, she saw an arrogant sneer plastered on a handsome SandWing's face.

The moment they locked eyes, she knew he was her target.

His features were unmistakably chiseled and his shoulders broad.

 **Mission Rank: A**

 **Name: Cactier**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Description: A rich spoiled son of the one of queen's advisor. His father gives him gold to spend recklessly and supports almost anything he does. Always has bodyguards behind him and is very cautious.**

 **Appearance: Light yellow scales with a pale underbelly. Above average in looks.**

 **Weaknesses: Girls and Arrogance**

 **Fears: Death, Whales and Being Poor**

Sunburn now realized at how unprepared she was. All she had brought was small knife, hoping it would be enough. She hadn't packed anything else. She hadn't even prepared some Brightsting Cactus.

"Well, little dragonet, what are you going to do now? I'm sorry to crush your hopes but you won't be killing me. I quite like living and therefore it's not in my nature to let go of someone who attempted to kill me."

Cactier laughed in remorse, as if he pitied that he had to kill her. His acting skills were top notch and if he put in a little effort, he could be become Pyrriha's best actor.

Sunburn's blood boiled and her heart started to pound in her chest. She was going to die.

"P-please l-l-let me go-," she croaked with great difficulty. No matter how tough her personality was, she was, after all, only a dragonet. The thing that came to her mind immediately was to beg for mercy.

Cactier looked at her for a moment before he burst out laughing. He almost choked and only after a few minutes did he stop. He wiped his tears and looked at her seriously.

"Little dragonet, did you not hear what I just said? You're going to die here and now. To have the nerve to ask to be spared after trying to kill me! HAHAHAHAHA! You make me laugh!"

His handsome features warped into a twisted smile. His wings extended and he gently placed his claws onto Sunburn's cheeks. At this point, even the cold and ruthless Sunburn, was completely terrified.

"You're really cute, you know? To even think you could escape me makes you the most ignorant assassin I've ever meet! All the others at least know they're going to die. How have you even survived up until now?"

Cactier's bodyguards were still motionless, as if they had seen this situation countless times before. They were simply unfazed by such a thing.

"Master, shall we end her now?"

The bodyguards were getting slightly impatient but they didn't dare to show their emotions, fearing to displeasure their master. They knew how fast he switched bodyguards and they didn't want to lose their highly paid and easy jobs.

But since the usual assassin was immediately killed, they were beginning to get bored.

"Yes, yes, you may kill her now," Cactier waved his claw majestically, as if he were a ruler judging a disobedient subject.

"But next time, don't you dare tell me what to do, alright? I'll let it slide just this once, after all, you guys are new to the team."

The bodyguards quickly nodded their heads in fear.

"Forgive us Master! We will never make the same mistake!"

He turned his attention to Sunburn and waited with eager eyes for her to be killed. His eagerness furthered Sunburn's disgust for him.

The bodyguards straighten out her neck and positioned her so they could easily end her. She tried to wiggle free, but alas it once again didn't work. However, right when the bodyguards were about to slice her neck, she her eyes became red and shouted with all her might,

"Stop! STOP! I COMMAND YOU TO STOP THIS INSTANT!"


	6. Chapter 3 Comeback

Sunburn was fully ready to die. Their claws were inches from her neck. She knew that they were prepared to cut her neck the moment Cactier allowed them to.

She understood it was her fate and she had tried to accept it.

But no matter how she tried to convince herself it was already set in stone, she couldn't acknowledge she was about to be killed. Without resistance, at that.

She wanted to live, she wanted to find her mother and smack her and tell her what a horrible mother she was, she wanted to murder her father for leaving her; she wasn't ready to die, she had so many things she wanted to do.

When Cactier had ordered the bodyguards to kill her, she refused to accept what was laid out for her.

She ended up screaming out, "commanding them to stop." She had expected for them to kill her even quicker, due to her rude remark.

But, to her surprise, when she had expected to be dead and going down to hell, she was alive and kicking. She hadn't even realized but she had her eyes shut tight as possible.

Sunburn slowly forced her eyelids open, one eye at a time. What she saw completely shocked her.

The claws of the dragon about to kill her were positioned inches, no, centimeters from her neck.

She gulped down and looked at the bodyguards, confused.

She then turned her gaze to Cactier and saw that his expression was as confused as her's was.

"W-why didn't you kill me?" She asked with fright. She really couldn't wrap her head around it. She was sure she was going to die.

"Yeah, hurrying up and do the deed! Why are you guys stopping? Didn't I _order_ you to kill her?"

Cactier demanded with anger. He was clearing as confused as her. Sunburn could tell he was trying to hide is confusion but she could see through it. She had seen this attempted by hundreds of dragons already. Kew word, attempted.

"M-master we can't move!" The bodyguards all stammered at once. The were trying to kill her, but they wouldn't move an inch.

"What?!" Sunburn and Cactier said at the same time. But now Cactier's and Sunburn's expression differed greatly.

They realized at the same time that she was an animus. Cactier's expression was filled with fear while Sunburn's was filled with immeasurable happiness.

Sunburn was the first to act, shouting loudly, "I command all of you to get off me, stand on the side and obey all of my instructions."

The bodyguards felt their bodies move on their own, not following their will. This absolutely terrified them. They gently unhooked their selves from Sunburn, allowing her to move freely. They got up orderly and stood in a perfect line a few feet from Sunburn. They looked like well-trained guards of the royal palace.

Cactier was no different. He instantly moved to the side, cursing along the way. He was arrived later then the guards because of his struggling and resistance.

Sunburn, however, ignored this all. She had been started at her talons, her eyes lifeless.

An animus.

She was an animus. One of the most rare, powerful and mystical dragons in all of Pyrriha!

She was ecstatic. The excitement she felt at that moment couldn't be matched.

SHE WAS AN ANIMUS!

"F*ck! You really are a dragonet! Sh*t how did I get caught by you?!" Cactier continually cursed and caused Sunburn to snap out of her delusions.

Now that she thought back to it, it really was embarrassing. She had a large smile pasted on her face with cheeks redder than lava. She really did look like a dragonet. It had completely destroyed her reputation as a cold and ruthless dragon.

But, she would only admit that to herself and never to another soul. Next time she wouldn't allow herself to show happiness. Her face must always remain unreadable.

She internally nodded and agreed.

But she thought of how Cactier had cursed at her…

"Ehhh? You sure are courageous Cactier! Don't you know who's in control now?" Sunburn sneered. She was going to repay him for her suffering and trauma.

"D-damn it!" Cactier muttered in fear, realizing the position he was in. He wasn't used to being disadvantageous, so he didn't know how to act.

Sunburn let a smile slip out but then quickly returned to her neutral expression.

But the guards and Cactier saw the smile in the split second it was shown. They finally felt true fear.

That smile… it wasn't something a dragnet should be capable of preforming.

 **Author's Note**

Imma have school soon so I can't write as much. I'll try to maintain at least a chapter a day. Thank you for the support! 3


	7. Chapter 4 Deciding their fate

Sunburn backed back and forth in front of the dozen of dragons. Her slow wandering caused the dragons sweat anxiously. They wondered what their fate would be after being captured by this cruel dragonet.

"M-miss, could you please let us go? We were merely following the directions of our employer. We didn't mean any harm. It should be Cactier's fault! It's his ignorance that we were forced to disobey you."

The guards were mastered at kissing up to superiors. The moment they saw that Sunburn was in control they abandoned Cactier and started to flatter Sunburn.

When Cactier heard this he was utterly enraged. He hadn't guessed that the dragons that once looked at him in respect and obeyed his every command would switch sides without hesitation.

"You traitors! How dare you push the blame onto me! "

Cactier's pride didn't allow him to bow down to anyone, let alone a dragonet that was barely 3 year old.

While they were arguing and cursing at each other, Sunburn was watching the situation as if it were a play. She was deeply amused by their fighting. Her only regret was she didn't have any dried scorpions to munch on.

In her mind she had already decided her plan of action. First she would force about any information about assassins and animus dragon, which should be easy considering the spell she had casted on them.

Then, she would kill the bodyguards, as it would be the cruelest punishment for them. But for Cactier… hehe… he was going to get a much crueler fate.

Under her command, Sunburn was going to force him to work for her.

Luckily for Cactier, Sunburn's mind wasn't completely twisted. When Sunburn was satisfied with his punishment she would free him. She just wanted to give him the cruelest years of his life in return for the terrifying life-death moment he had given her. It was the first thing that came to mind when she saw his overwhelming pride.

To be honest, she was slightly jealous that even in the face of death he could have just a strong front. She vowed to her self she would never submit or beg to anyone every again.

Meanwhile when Sunburn was determining the fate of the dragons in front of her, the bodyguards and Cactier were cursing at each other.

"I should have killed you the moment I saw that smug face of yours. Its so ugly I thought I was going to puke, but since I was so kind and merciful, I decided to spare your worthless feelings!"

A bodyguard snared.

"Not to mention how you bossed us around! How did you think you were, Queen Scorpion?"

Another bodyguard added in, slightly peeking if Sunburn watched how he scolded Cactier.

"Y-you guys!"

Cactier was speechless. They were so shameless! Just a day ago they kissed up to him as if there was no tomorrow. He was truly regretting why he was so blind. These dragons were the ones he thought were closest to him. He was feeling very depressed; now knowing they hated his guts.

Just when another bodyguard was going to shout another rude remark, they heard someone burst out laughing.

Of course this was Sunburn.

For the past minute, she tried her hardest to hold in her laughter. It was hard to imagine this dragon was the same in the life-death situation an hour ago.

The dragons all turned their heads and stay the petit dragon laughing her butt off. Of course, even thought they were angry, they didn't show it and put on their most respectful faces. They appeared to be waiting peacefully for Sunburn to give them commands.

Sunburn's session lasted for about 2 minutes before ending. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and turned serious.

"I will ask you a few questions and if you answer then with as much details and information as possible I will reward you. If you lie- well, you know. If I'm feeling merciful I might spare one of you," Sunburns said with disinterest. She let out a yawn and realized how tired she was.

She rubbed her eyes and realized how late it was. The sun had set and it was already nearing midnight.

She had to quickly get as much information before sunrise.

Sunburn pointed at the first dragon and signaled him to speak.

The dragon instantly started to speak.

"Ummmm animus dragons are super rare and uhhhh they can enchant things to do what they want. So let's say if you wanted a scroll to fly into the sky, you would say 'I enchant you to fly into the sky!' and then it would do it! But then you wouldn't get the scroll back… and it would-"

The dragon droned on and on.


	8. Chapter 5 Mixed Feelings

**Point of View: Cactier (only for this chapter)**

The sky had brightened and the sun had started to rise. Birds started to chirp and the scavengers started to wander.

A small, innocent SandWing dragonet lay atop a mall mountain of corpses, smiling gently. The blood at died the grass red, while the dragonet sat there peacefully.

Sunburn felt weird. She hadn't felt disgust or fear. She wasn't the slightest bit nauseated. She was actually felt a bit of joy, which caused the young adult SandWing beside her to shake in fear. His expression was lifeless and pale.

Cactier had seen her kill every single one of them, with a cute smile. Her features were bathed red.

His fear for her had risen to a new level. He had decided to never offend a monster like her, even at the cost of his dignity. He trembled slightly before giving up all resistance. He had a certain limit, and she had crossed it numerous times.

Sunburn pointed at Cactier and shouted in a commanding tone, "Do you know where Hyena's Fury is?"

Cactier quickly nodded, hoping not to grab the attention of the small demon.

"Find me in Hyena's Fury after you clean up these corpses. My name's Sunburn, so don't forget!"

Before Cactier could answer, she rose into the sky, flying off into the now risen sun.

She had cast a spell on herself and him.

The first spell was on her: _enchant myself to forever have the same soul, no matter how many spells I cast._

The second was on him: _enchant this dragon to become obey my every command, become loyal to me and never betray me for 5 years._

At first Cactier wanted to fight back, he wanted to scream, he wanted to chop her into pieces and each her flesh. But something inside him changed… his heart thumped at the sight of Sunburn.

He tried convinced himself it was the spell but… he could feel the fake loyalty clearly. He tried to fight back against it but it was similar to an immoveable mountain against the speck that was his will. He tried to change the artificial emotion planted but he couldn't

But this feeling… he felt as if his heart had instantly accepted it. He tried to hate it with all his might. He tried to remove it. Nothing worked.

After an hour of trying to resist the feeling he unwillingly let it be. He tried to accept the reason he stopped was because he had already tried but he knew it was something else.

Cactier shook his head and focused at the task at hand. He started at the corpses in disgust before trying to think of a plan.

Later, when he had finally buried all the corpses and removed the blood from the grass, he stared into the sun.

However, the moment he looked into it, he remembered the silhouette of Sunburn. He shook his head in anger and wondered why he would have such thoughts.

The large male SandWing opened his wings and launched into the sky, rushing towards the direction of Hyena's Fury.

-2.53 hours later-

Cactier never realized how hard it was to travel. Since he was the son of some rich royal advisor, he never had to do anything for himself. After all, why did he? He had everything he wished for a step away. And even then, he had servants bring it to him; so traveling in the smothering heat was torture.

But every time he wanted stop and rest, he felt the nagging urge to continue. An eager voice inside of him yelled _don't you want to see your master Sunburn? Hurry or else she might become displeased!_

He hated it so very much, but continued.

At long last, he had spotted land buildings and tents in the flat desert landscape. Relief spread through his body as he asked his voice if he could rest now.

He furiously shook his head, while interrogating himself. Why are you asking permission from a voice in your head?!

Nothing made sense! Why was he like this now?!

Cactier rushed towards Hyena's Fury and pushed those thoughts to the back of head. Maybe if he suppressed them enough, they wouldn't come back.

When he arrived his first thought was to find water and food. He had packed a pack of gold to purchase anything he wanted. He looked around before spotting a stall with his favorite snacks: cooked snakes.

He quickly went up to the stall and asked for a bowl of cooked snakes while showing a few gold coins in his palms.

The vendor nodded politely the moment he spotted the coins. He grabbed a bowl from under his stall and places it in front of Cactier.

He then pointed at three types of snakes he had.

The three containers had worn out signs with the words: Sidewinder, Desert Rattlesnake, and King Cobra

He contemplated for a moment before asking for a bit of each. The store vendor quickly nodded and started to fill his bowl. Cactier started to drool at the sight of the snakes and stopped putting pressure on the other voice.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the voice demanded angrily _Well, aren't you going to get some for Master?_

Cactier retorted with the amount of money he had. He only had about 10 more coins in his little pouch.

 _What's more important?! HUH?!_

Cactier admitted defeat and asked the store vender for another bowl of snake while taking out a few more gold coins.


	9. Chapter 6 Showing the Evidence

When Cactier was grabbing the two bowls of cooked snakes he heard a voice calling his name. When he turned his head to look he found Sunburn gesturing him to follow her.

Cactier did a little juggle motion with his hands before quickly following behind Sunburn. Her face contained a trace of displeasure, which made Cactier shiver in fear. While he was wondering what he had done wrong, Sunburn was seething.

What had happen was that the idiot bartender had denied the possibility of her actually completing the mission and immediately assumed she was bluffing when she said although she could complete the mission she didn't want to.

Her fury intensified when he had told her to go play with her friends.

She wasn't just a dragonet. She became even more furious when she saw the way he looked at her, as if she was beneath him. Anger brew inside of her just thinking about it.

Finally, they had arrived at the large building. When she entered she hadn't noticed but when she looked a bit closer she found out that the building had a name. It was called Assassin's Gathering.

Quite the literal name, she muttered in her mind.

"Cactier wait here for a second. When I call your name you come in, ok?" Sunburn said, with a made tone.

"O-ok" Cactier whispered _master_ under his breath but Sunburn had already entered, no longer sparing him a single glance. He had a feeling of disappointment brew inside of him without his awareness.

When Sunburn entered she stormed towards Python with a typical angry dragonet expression. The chatter shrouded her ears and laughter clouded her mind.

Python was talking with a customer before spotting the fuming SandWing dragonet and smiled sweetly. He stopped talking with the customer and looked at Sunburn with an amused expression.

"Are you back with _Cactier,_ Miss? How come I can't manage to find him?"

Python laughed, mocking the fact Sunburn's buff was blown. The customer that Python had just talked to also muffled a small chuckle.

Sunburn didn't take the laughing well.

She then shouted with all her might "CACTIER!"

A handsome male SandWing stumbled through the door, blushing. He was having a heated debate with the voice in his head when Sunburn's call had brought him back to reality.

"You called?" Cactier put up a strong front, not wanting to embarrass himself and Sunburn. He puffed up his chest and everything.

When he entered two shocked dragons greeted him. Their jaws were practically touching the table and their eyes widen to the point where you could barely see the pupils.

He slowly approached Sunburns and asked with concern, "Are they ok?"

Sunburn slammed the mission paper on the table before leaving. She sneered at Python before shut the door violently.

Cactier was left wondering why she had suddenly left, and right after she had called him too.

He didn't think much of it be scurrying to follow her like a scavenger.

Python and the customer were left stupefied.

The sun was shining above them as they rushed out of Assassin's Gathering.

Cactier walked behind Sunburn meekly. He was afraid he was going to stir up her emotions.

However to his surprised, she turned to him and suddenly smiled a toothy grin. He wasn't prepared when she shouted at him, filled with happiness.

"That was great! Did you see their faces! HAHAHA! I almost had to laugh right then and there. And your entrance was sooooooo good!

Cactier smiled back, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Was this dragonet the same dragonet that mercilessly killed those dragons? Did she just have huge mood swings? He found that he was getting confused very often now.

Sunburn had realized that she was getting too excited. She coughed a few times before saying in an attitude opposite of her previous one.

"B-but it wasn't _that_ good, you know?" She said seriously.

This made Cactier's image of her completely dissipate. He couldn't hold it in and laughed for a minute or two. He liked this version of her much more.

"S-shut up!" Sunburn shouted, with a blushing, red face. She smacked Cactier and stormed off.

Cactier let out a small chuckle at how adorable she was.

Maybe, just maybe, these 5 years weren't going to be so bad.

 _-2 years later-_


	10. Chapter 7 Enchantments

After 2 years went by, Sunburn thought deeply about what to enchant, as it was no in her nature to enchant anything and everything. She would only enchant things absolutely necessary.

Well, at first she wanted to enchant everything she was, but soon she learned not to that.

Her first enchantment was on herself once more: _Enchant myself to be immune to any other animus' spells, make it so that no matter what spells they cast, mine spells will forever remain unless I enchant otherwise._

That spell was a mouthful, or a thoughtful. She had learned to enchant things with her mind and that was the first attempt. She had gotten the spell wrong over three times. It took any scrolls to get the wording just right too.

However, to be safe, she said it out loud in case her thinking didn't work. She didn't want to take any chances. It would be horrible karma if another dragon put a spell on her when she though she was perfectly safe.

Her second enchant was on an item; her worn and torn leather bag. She had this bag for as long she remembered. Back when she didn't know the worth of gold, she gave over a 60 coins to a vender selling a high quality leather bag.

The bag itself was only worth about 40 coins but the vender somehow made Sunburn pay 60 coins. He probably saw how easy to trick she was. Every time she thought back to that time she never understood how she was scammed out of 20 coins.

 _Enchant this bag to be able to hold any amount of things no matter how large, and keep them in the same condition they were put in. Enchant it to be only open to me and no one else._

That was also a tongue twister. She had to say that a few times before saying it correctly, let alone thinking it. The amount of scrolls she wasted were ago unbelievable.

After those two spells she waiting a while before casting more. After another few months of intense training she thought of another enchantment.

An item that could command absolute loyalty.

Wait! Don't judge it just yet! It wasn't that inhumane! Listen to the rest first!

 _I enchant this gold ring to be able to turn a dragon loyal for a set amount of time, measure their loyalty and turn a dragon loyal forever if they are completely willing._

Only few second later did she realize an extremely crucial fact. What if others gotten their claws on her animus touched? She had only made herself immune to other animus dragon's spells. These were her own enchantments and they would affect her.

She shuddered at the image of her serving another dragon loyally. She shuddered in fear.

Her next spell immediately came to her.

 _I enchant any animus-touched item that touches my body to only be usable by me. Enchant all the animus-touched accessories on my body to be unable to leave without my permission._

Another few months roll by.

Invulnerability earring

Another year comes around.

Make her animus powers unknown to other animus dragons.

Finally after all those spells, Sunburn was done. Well done for now.

Sunburn was body was filled with jewelry. She had two golden rings (1 enchanted, three golden teeth (unenchanted), five golden spikes (unenchanted), a leather bag (enchanted), two sun and moon necklaces (unenchanted), a skyfire bracelet (unenchanted), a snake braclet (unenchanted), and one diamond earring (enchanted).

Sunburn was confident in her spells. She wouldn't be defeated by anyone now. But she didn't want herself to become lazy or overconfident so she continued training everyday. She only stopped training when she was eating or doing a mission.

Cactier soon grew used to Sunburn. He became more comfortable being himself near her and calling her master. He usually helped bring drinks and towels. Otherwise, he trained along with her. He soon became an excellent assassin.

Every week or so, they left to buy food, like cooked snakes and dried scorpions. Sunburn and eaten the snakes Cactier gave her, only after determining whether they were poisonous or not. Over the years she had gotten more cold, careful, ruthless and greedy.

Her current home was a small hut. She had all the essentials in the hut. When Cactier came she had to buy another bed for him to sleep on. Even though her bed was big enough for two full grown dragons she still bought a bed for him.

However, this small hut wasn't the only thing she owned.


	11. Chapter 8 Secret Cave

Sunburn had a secret cave about a mile from her hut, hidden from view. No one besides her and Cactier knew about. It was deep underground, maybe about 30 meters below the ground.

The only way to enter it was from a secret passage below a rock in a small clearing. Sunburn had discovered when she was about half a year old. Since she had no parents, she had no one to tell her what was dangerous and what was safe so she did a lot of exploring.

This was her second journey from Hyena's Fury. She had never seen a tree before so its leaves amazed her. While she tried to touch the leaves of the tree, she stood up on the rock. Right when she stood on the rock. She slipped and revealed the secret passage.

When she first entered the cave, she was terrified. The passage was pitch black and she couldn't see a thing. However, after walking for a few minutes she arrived at the cave.

The moment she had looked around she was awed. Even her tiny brain could tell it was absolutely beautiful. Fireflies flew around, lighting up the dozen of tunnels. Each tunnel leads to one to two rooms.

She had entered a cave system. A gorgeous cave system, at that.

Her day-to-day life included training, shopping, training, eating, completing missions and training.

Everyday she trained for over 7 hours, while Cactier accompanied her. But, he usually only managed to complete 5 hours of training. Every so often she would complete the 7 hours with her, though.

Cactier bitterly laughed at the realization that his master, a 3-year-old dragonet, trained more than he could.

Training was no easy task. When Sunburn began training she could only train for 2 hours max. But slowly, she had gotten stronger and could persist for a longer amount of time.

However, even after training for 2 years and a half, she would still end up in a heavy sweat. During her first year of training she woke up everyday with sore limbs. Even moving them was pure agony.

But she persisted and now she could do 7 hours of training a day feeling great all the while.

She was still pant in exhaustion but that was about it. Training had become part of her daily routine and she only allowed herself to cease her training when she had a mission.

They took a break after 2 hours of training and went to buy their breakfast. Sunburn's favorite restaurant was The Scorpion's Den while Cactier's was Snake Fillet. They had argued for the longest time before finally comprising to take turns.

After they ate breakfast they would each go their separate ways and buy a few snakes with the limit of spending 10 pieces of gold each.

Then they would return to their little hut and train for 3 hours, until lunch. Being unable to comprise caused another debate. The argument somehow escalated to asking for the opinion of Python.

Poor Python was caught in a difficult decision. He didn't doubt if he chose Cactier Sunburn would literally have his head, but he didn't want to betray Cactier. He and Cactier had a decent relationship and they were friends. He didn't want to abandon a friend so he suggested Lizard Heaven.

After lunch they would train another 2 hours before eating dinner.

When they came to him about dinner, he said the same thing, not wanting to choose either.

Then, after dinner they would go to sleep without any other word to each other. Sunburn didn't treat Cactier unfairly like Cactier expected. He was content with his life right now; he didn't want anything to change. But everything changed when the fire nation attacked (jk J).

Then when either of them had a mission they would go and complete it. The other would then continue their routine until the other came back. Missions took 1-8 days. They usually only took 2-3 days though.

There was only one time when a mission took 8 days. One time during a mission Sunburn saw a poster that said a traveling musician was arriving there in 7 days and reallllly wanted to watch. You know the rest…

When they finished a mission they would go return the head of the dragon they were hired to kill as proof, return the mission paper and collect the gold. Killing the dragon actually only took a day or two but to collect all the gold they had was tough to collect.

That's why Sunburn enchanted a ruby earring for Cactier. All he had to imagine what he wanted to take with him and it would teleport in the tiny ruby earring. Then when he wanted take it out, he would imagine it being taken out and ~poof~ it would appear out of thin air.

Sunburn and Cactier made a lot of money being assassins. Cactier only accepted missions of A or higher. He had never touched anything lower. Sunburn only accepted the missions that paid over 10,000 gold.

Only S ranks and higher gave that much gold so she didn't have a lot of missions to do. She was only called for the highest level of missions.

Cactier was a rank S+ assassin.

As for Sunburn? She was a rank S+++ assassin.

The top assassin of the world.


	12. Chapter 9 The Request

Sunburn almost instantly made her way up the assassin ladder of status.

When she completed 3 missions that were ranked S++ pulled her rank up to the top ten assassins in the world, not including the NightWing assassins that didn't participate in assassin missions.

The moment she had completed those 3 missions her rank went up to rank 4.

Soon, after completing a few more S++ Ranked missions and the fables S+++ mission she rose to rank 1.

And of course now her money stash was huge. Including Cactier's gathering they had about 5 billion gold coins with thousands of gems, ornaments, earrings, necklaces and everything in-between. She was probably the richest dragon in the world, yet she still saved as many gold coins as possible, trying to negotiate every price cheaper.

Cactier, however, was a natural heavy-spender. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Whenever he went to spend over 500 gold coins, Sunburn would get defensive of the gold stash, saying most of it was hers and whatnot.

Every time Cactier eventually relented, letting Sunburn win the argument.

However, even though they had 5 billion coins, the cave was only 1/6 full. Sunburn had stuffed all the coins into separate caverns and the pieces of jewelry in other caverns. Sunburn wondered whether or not she would ever need to expand this cave of hers.

Cactier didn't really want to move up the assassin ranks. He was satisfied with just completing A rank and S rank missions and wasn't really into gold. He thought that the amount of gold was enough; he even wondered how he would ever spend it all.

Sunburn tried to convince him otherwise but he wouldn't listen. Being an assassin was tough and getting gold was part of it, she said over and over again.

Today Sunburn didn't feel like training. She wasn't any bit lazy but today she just didn't want to train. She called Cactier and explained to him the feeling.

"I don't want to train today."

Cactier was utterly speechless when he heard her. This trainer maniac _didn't_ want to train? Was he hearing things?

"W-what? Don't you always want to train?"

"I said I don't want to train today."

Sunburn said once again, keeping her cold expression.

Cactier had gotten use to her cold attitude. It was just in her personality and it wasn't something she could change. However, every so often she would show an innocent and cute side of herself.

"Well, that's surprising."

Sunburn looked at him, without responding.

An awkward swish of wind rolled by, causing Cactier to shiver.

"Do you want to look around town then?"

Sunburn nodded.

"O-ok… let's go."

Just when Cactier was about to leave, Sunburn whispered,

"Wait…"

Cactier nearly didn't hear her. When he turned around, Sunburn had disappeared. He looked around and saw a small barbed tail entering their hut. After a minute, Sunburn returned. It didn't seem as if anything had changed of she had gotten anything, but as it wasn't his business he didn't ask, even though he was really curious.

She gave him a thumbs-up and a glance. He hadn't realized how short and small Sunburn actually was. He also was caught up in her powerful, commanding disposition, he hadn't even noticed her actual size.

Now that he mentioned it she was actually quite cute, like a little munchkin.

When he was thinking about her size, Sunburn was getting impatient. He had stood there for 10 seconds and looked into space, looking as if he was thinking of something of heaven-defying importance.

If she knew that he was thinking how scrawny she was, she would have wanted to cut him up alive.

She poked him in the arm, with a disappointed frown. She wanted to hurry up and go to town. This was one of the few times she actually wanted to go to town and Cactier was taking an eternity!

"Hurry up!"

Cactier snapped out of his mystical trance and stepped back into the real world. He hastily apologizing, not wanting to lose his head.

When he was about to take off into the air and fly to town, Sunburn asked him for a favor that made him speechless.

With the most innocent expression, she asked ignorantly,

"Cactier, can I ride on your back? I'm don't feel like flying either."


	13. Chapter 10 Realization

For a solid minute, Cactier couldn't comprehend what Sunburn had asked him. He then used another minute to try to piece the words together. " _Ride_ " was the word that especially spun his mind into a jumble. He had repeated it in his head again and again.

Sunburn didn't understand why Cactier was hesitating. As far as she knew, she had asked a fairly normal question. She was tired and didn't want to fly, therefore she asked Cactier.

"Well? You can say no!" humphed Sunburn, slightly annoyed. She couldn't really understand why he was hesitating and his cheeks were so red. She honestly just wanted to avoid flying, but if he was going to make such a big deal out of it…

Cactier stood there with a dazed look in his eyes, still unable to comprehend her request.

Sunburn took off into the sky angrily, no longer looking at the statue that was Cactier.

Only after standing there for another minute did he finally realize what she said. She had asked him if she could ride her! He had mixed feelings containing the request, but he didn't know what they were. He could feel a faint trace of excitement but…

Cactier looked around and realized that Sunburn had already flew off to town, leaving him. He felt a rush of disappointment, sending him in dismay.

Recently he had been getting weird feelings and he didn't know why. Whenever he looked at Sunburn he felt a happy, whenever she can back from a mission unharmed he felt a sense of relief, her joy was his joy.

At first he was completely sure it was the spell she had cast on him, but now he wasn't so sure. He didn't know what to feel anymore and couldn't calm his emotions. He also wanted to hurry up and go to town and talk to Python.

Trying to no longer think about it, he rose into the sky and flew to town.

When he was the town from up above, he dove down like a rocket. Only when he was a foot from the ground did he pull up and hover in mid-air. He looked around while still flapping his wings. After spotted Assassin's Gathering he landed majestically, swishing his tail around.

Whenever he left his small hut, he felt many eyes on him. Many female SandWings always stared at him lovingly, giving him a chill. He really disliked it when he saw other SandWings wave at him a blushing cheeks. He felt like puking whenever that happened.

Yes, before he had "met" Sunburn, he did like playing around with girls. But ever since he had started to live with Sunburn he started to dislike the SandWings trying to hit on him. It was a very weird phenomenon.

Cactier stopped thinking about it and looked around. For a moment he didn't know what he was looking for but then it suddenly dawned on him that he didn't know where Sunburn had gone. He thought for a moment and concluded she would either be wandering around, at Scorpion's den, as she hadn't eaten yet, or Assassin's Gathering to look for missions.

Cactier stopped his gaze on Assassin's Gathering. It was closest to him so he thought to look their first. After he had already entered the Assassin's Gathering, a few girls were gossiping.

"Damn Cactier is handsome! It's like his face is carved from the heavens and dipped in holy water!"

"I know right! I wish I could just kiss that face of his! I bet he's great at kissing. Urgh! Just thinking about it makes me crazy!"

"No! Cactier is mine! Keep your claws off! He's MINE!"

"But… Guys… I-I think Cactier has a crush on someone already…"

All of the SandWings had fire streaming from their eyes and they looked at the SandWing who talked furiously. It was as if Cactier belonged to them.

"I-I'm just saying! Didn't you see his expression when he was standing there? He was definitely thinking of someone!"

The SandWing tried to defend herself, barely getting the right words out.

"Hmph! Even if he did like someone, it would be me."

"HA! Dream on girl! He was obviously looking at me when he blushed!"

"Don't lie to yourself! I'm way prettier than all of you! Tch! You think you stand a chance against me?"

The girls argued and argued, refusing to back down.

Meanwhile, Cactier, ignorant of their conversation, had already sat down. He and Python were having a chat.

"Sigh~ I don't know how I feel anymore!"

Python was delivered a few cups of beer to customers and put one down in front of Cactier. He moved around smoothly, already used to the motion.

"What do you mean?" He asked with confusion.

"I mean, I don't know how I feel about Sunburn! I thought it was the spell but I'm not sure now. I enjoy her company everyday and I feel happy when I think of her!" Cactier gulped down a bit of beer before slamming it onto the table.

Python stopped for a second before continuing.

"Now, don't you EVER tell Sunburn about I betrayed her, alright? I treasure my life, alright?" Python said in a serious manner.

Cactier seriously nodded. He was also sure if Sunburn heard this conversation she would have Python's head.

"Now to answer your question…" Python chuckled and said in a amused tone.

"You, my friend, are in love."


	14. Chapter 11 Flashback

Cactier immediately refuted the claim, flat out denying it.

"N-no way! She's my master! There is absolutely no way I could every fall in love with her, that's like… falling in love with your mom! Absolutely not!"

Cactier felt his cheeks burning up as he hastily tried to explain himself.

Python chuckled again and patted Cactier on the shoulder, giving him a pitied look. It looked as if he genuinely pitied Cactier.

"You are sooooooo in love. I saw it before you came to me, idiot. Your lovey-doveyness was so obvious. I mean, you nearly blush every time you see Sunburn! Don't kid yourself. I honestly can't believe Sunburn doesn't see it. She can be so dense sometimes."

Cactier nervously laughed and sipped his cup, worried. He hadn't fallen in love with Sunburn, right? There was no way. And plus, Sunburn would never share his feeling if he, let's say, fall in love with her.

When he accepted this as a fact, Cactier felt dejected and he didn't know why. Sigh~ he really had fallen for Sunburn.

"So? What should I do?" Cactier said worriedly. He had never had to chase after a girl before; usually it was the other way around. So, he had no experience. He was afraid he would do something unforgivable and cause Sunburn to leave him. He wouldn't know how to continue living if that was the case.

Cactier gloomily recognized how deep he had fallen in love with her. It was amazing he hadn't known about it sooner. He now understood that, without her, he would never be able to survive.

It was ironic that he had been that close to killing her. Cactier knew that he had been trying to get rid of the feeling because he knew of how little his chances were.

"Hmmm… Ok, so we know Sunburn doesn't like to be underestimated. Ah flashbacks Hahahaha…" Pythong laughed with melancholy.

He then pointed at Cactier and shouted with severe expression "Seriously though, NEVER tell Sunburn, you hear? NEVER!"

Python could still see the situation. Sunburn had her venomous tail next to him, close enough to strike.

Now Python knew a lot about SandWing venom. He had to deal with a lot of "accidental stabs" and fights breaking out in the bar so he knew a great deal about how poisonous each SandWing's venom was.

After a few years he deduced that, the lighter the color, the more poisonous. Up until Sunburn, the lightest color venom he had ever seen was light brown, as normal SandWing's venom would be dark brown.

And light brown venom could kill a dragon in a few hours so imagine what it would have felt like when he saw Sunburn's white colored venom. He literally swore to himself he would never offend her again, as long as he lived. He literally bowed down to Sunburn and kowtowed in submission asking her to spare mercy.

He **_NEVER_** wanted to be in that situation again.

"Gimme a sec," Python whispered. He found that a customer ordered another beer and went to fill another jar. After filling up his jar, he went into the back of the building, disappearing from Cactier's sight.

Cactier guzzled down the rest of the cup, emptying all the beer. Ever so often he was miss his old life. Of course, it wasn't a lot, but he would wish to go back. No one to control him, as much girls as he liked, his father spoiling him.

He felt really bad not even telling his father where he went. He had just disappeared, like a speck of dust in a tornado. His father must be so worried about him. He was determined to one day go back to his father and tell him about he was doing.

He really was a horrible son. His father had loved him and spoiled him so much, yet he decided to leave without a word. The guilt almost consumed him whenever he thought would it.

Soon, he really did have to ask Sunburn to let him visit his dad. He really did feel bad. He wanted to apologize to his father and give him some of his gold.

Cactier head ached when he thought of the argument he and Sunburn were going to have.

Python had returned from the back of the building and approached Cactier with a bright smile.

When he got near Cactier, he said happily, "It's my break time! Come on; let's get another drink. We got an extra ultra-deluxe room booked."

Python winked at Cactier slyly "by the Assassin Stinger."


	15. Chapter 12 The Ultimate Room

As Cactier walked through the hallway, he tried to make sense of all the twists and turns they took. But after the 10th, he gave up.

When he peeked in the rooms he pasted he saw many things happening; business deals, partying, and even some…. other actions.

Cactier stopped peeking into the rooms when he came across those actions in disgust, entirely focusing on where Python was leading. Surprisingly, just when he started focusing on Python, they had arrived.

Python showed the room and bowed down low, "Welcome, Assassin Stinger."

Him bowing made Cactier feel uncomfortable. He hastily helped Python up, not wanting him to bow.

"You don't need to bow, we're friends right? Other dragons can bow but I don't want you to bow."

Python got up helplessly and tried to explain, "Thanks, but all guides have to be respectful to assassins, especially if they have a high rank like you. So its basically routine for me to bow to high level assassins."

Cactier let out a "really" look and sighed. It just didn't feel right…

Python saw the Cactier was conflicted and gave him a scenario, "Ok, what if Sunburn **reallllllly** didn't want you to bow, what would you say?"

"Of course, I'd still bow. She _is_ my master." Cactier said with a second of hesitation.

Python gave Cactier a look.

"Ohhhhhhh ok I get it now." Cactier realized why Python had to bow now. It was just how it had to be.

"Well, why did you bring me here anyway?" Cactier asked, slightly confused but mostly interested. The room's door looked like it was made of gold and diamonds, while the other room's doors were glass, allowing Cactier to look through them.

Now that he mentioned it, the other rooms were super close together, but these rooms were far apart. Suspicion started to arise in Cactier.

"Don't you want to talk more about Sunburn? I'm here to help you, man," Python genuinely smiled.

Cactier raised his eyebrow and said in a tone trying to hide his laughter "Really? I thought that you just used my name to get a super comfortable room? Maybe I'm just crazy."

Python laughed nervously, not expecting to be found out. He usually managed to fool Cactier. Cactier was getting sharper.

Cactier chuckled a bit and opened the door.

However, when he tried to open the door he realized it was quite heavy. After all, he was relatively strong compared to others. After using a bit more strength, he managed to open it.

When he glanced inside, he was filled with awe.

The room was the size of 10 full grown dragons with their wings extended. The walls were lined with all types of gems, dazzling the eyes of any foolish enough to look directly at it. Along the walls were couches made of grizzly bear hide dyed light blue. The table in the middle was large enough to hold a feast for numerous dragons.

Cactier walked forward slowly, unable to say a word.

Python looked very proud and smug. "Now do you know why I brought you here?"

Cactier immediately sat down on the couch, taking in the beauty of being lazy. He nodded, sinking deep into the couch. He hadn't even noticed that his wings were sore and his limbs tired until now. The never wanted to get up ever again.

Python entered the room with a knowing smile and sat on the couch, embracing the fuzz.

"Ok so, tell me more about this crush of yours."

Cactier face burned up at the mention of _crush_. He was still new to love.

Cactier thought for a second. "Whenever she talks to me, my heart beats faster and I don't want to leave her side." Cactier amazed himself. Since when was he so blunt?

Python nodded. "Yup, normal symptoms of falling in love."

"And if I don't see her everyday, I get really depressed and worried. I feel like that whenever she goes to do a mission."

Python nodded again. "Ok, still symptoms of love. Its just that you might be more in love then I had originally thought possible."

Cactier grew worried and blurted out, "What if she doesn't like me?"

Python looked at Cactier again, "I doubt that Sunburn likes you."

Cactier looked down dejected and twirled his tail. The atmosphere instantly got depressing. Python was shocked at the sudden change.

Python didn't want his friend to be sad so he tried to give him some hope,  
"You have to give her time. If you rush it and she thinks your annoying, she'll never like you."

Cactier looked at Python with a pleading look. He looked hopeful.

"Y-yeah! You can't do anything to annoy her. If you even do the smallest thing and make her sad, you can say goodbye early."

Python nodded as if everything he had said was true and he was really helping Cactier. He coughed and peeked out of one eye to see Cactier's emotions.

Cactier was smiling with longing, lighting his surroundings.

Python didn't want him to burst his bubble, but he knew how small Cactier's chances were.

 **Author's Note**

It is time to beg for followers! :D

Sooooo uhhhhh follow me :)


	16. Chapter 13 Pair of Eyes

Sunburn scarfed down a few scavengers, angrily slurped some mushroom soup. The soup slightly burned her tongue but she paid no attention to the pain.

Cactier's incident had already slipped from her mind. She was only upset for a few minutes anyway.

Currently she was fuming about an attendant. How dare that dragon tell her what to do? She could still see the scoffing grin on her snout.

"Where's your parents my butt! See if I don't kill you in your sleep," Sunburn whispered to herself.

She stabbed a potato and stuffed it in her mouth, chewing violently. Who was she to tell her to get out? Hmph! She was never going to eat in Scorpion's Den again! She

Sunburn wiped her mouth with a napkin and called for the bill. The waiter quickly arrived and handed her the piece of paper. She looked at the bill and took out 20 coins, placing them on the table.

She shook off the crumbs and headed out.

When she was outside, the sun beamed and caused her to simultaneously sweat. Dragons crowded the streets, giving no space to Sunburn. These were very dangerous situations.

She needs to focus on controlling her tail. She didn't want to walk around with dead dragons behind her. That would be pretty bad.

She could just fly but then if she accidently stabbed another dragon, a dragon suddenly dropping from the sky would be even worse. Everyone would know it was her who did it.

Sunburn maneuvered around each dragon, twisting and turning. Her tail swished around, getting dangerously close to he scales of many dragons. Her smooth movements would have mesmerized most of the dragons around her, too bad they weren't a bit focused on her.

Usually, dragonets were only allowed on the streets alone if they were able to control their tail. It was a common rule for many towns, let alone a large town like Hyena's Fury. So, they didn't have any worries about Sunburn.

They continued to walk, ignoring Sunburn. But to be fair, Sunburn also ignored them, sparing them no mind. It was funny about the relationship between them.

After Sunburn had escaped the sea of SandWings she moved forward on her journey. She should look for Cactier but that was too much work. She would just let him find her.

Oh! She knew what to do next! She needed some toilet paper.

Sunburn headed off to buy toilet paper. After walking on the pathway, she saw two signs that pointed at opposite ways. They were both shaped like arrows.

The left sign said _Royal City_ while the right sign said _Market Place_.

She followed the right path and continued on her way. She walked for a bit but then went back to the intersection, staring at the signs. She had always wanted to go to Royal City.

Well, she had always wanted to go visit the other tribes, but she knew there was no way she could. They were always at each other's throats. A SandWing dragonet going to the Sky Kingdom would definitely be suspicious and the excuse "I'm just exploring" wouldn't work.

She sighed with remorse.

Sunburn only had 2 wishes, to travel and explore the wonders of each tribe and to become the richest dragon alive. She was already close to her second wish but the former was hard to accomplish.

She had heard rumors of the Rainforest had clumps of tall trees. Oh how she would love to see them.

She looked down at the ground dejectedly and walked back onto the right path. Her wings drooped and her tail dragged on the ground. She wouldn't be surprised if a raincloud suddenly started to rain on her.

She tried to focus her mind on toilet paper, but now she couldn't. She wandered on the path before sitting down on a nearby rock. Then it hit her.

Hold up… wasn't she an animus?

Sunburn became unbelievably excited, rivaling when she had discovered her animus powers. But her excitement quickly died down when what-ifs clouded her thoughts.

She was going to try it still, but she tried to keep her expectations low. The more you hope, the bigger the disappointment. However, the more she thought about it, the more excited she became.

Sunburn realized that, once again, her emotions were getting out of hand (claw?). She tried to calm them down but it didn't work. She decided she wasn't going to enchant anything until she got the toilet paper and got home.

She got up from her rock and started to walk along the path. She started to hypothesize what were some spells she could cast.

Unbeknown to her, a pair of eyes was watching her from afar, absorbing every tiny bit of Sunburn.

Author's Note

I'm going to start writing another story writing platform so I won't be posting as often :(

If your curious go to Webnovel and search up **The Rise of the Fallen Goddess**


End file.
